Flush snap switch



F. JOHMSQN 1,859,671

FLUSH SNAP SWITCH Filed Feb. 16, 1929 Wii Patented May [24, 1932 UNITED TA E PATENT OFFICE FRANK JOHNSON, OF NEW BEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO JOHN L PAUL- DING, OF NEW IBEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION.- OF mssacmr.

SETTS FLUSH SNAP SWITCH Application filed February 16, 1929. Serial No. 340,478.

This invention relates to electric snap switches and more particularly to that type of snap switch utilizin a contact carrying rocker member actuate? by a spring mount- The main object of the invention is the provision of a switch'of the character described of simple yet eflicient construction in which the number of operative parts has been reduced to a minimum and the cost of mafilufacture and assembling materially lowere vision of a switch in which the operative parts are loosely mounted in a receptacle or insulating body and are held therein by a face plate,thereby greatly reducing the expense of assembling the switch.

A further object of the invention is the elimination of metal bearings for the movable parts of the switch and the utilization of the insulating body for this purpose thereby effecting a'saving of materials and labor.

Other objects of the invention will be more specifically set forth and described hereinafter. a

In its preferred embodiment, my invention contemplates a snap switch comprising a rocker member carrying a contact blade adapted, when said'member is rocked,-to make or break the lamp circuit by engagement or disen a ement with fixed contacts. The rocker member is actuated by a spring one end ofwhich is connected directly to a snap lever. By connecting the spring directly to the snap lever a number of parts heretofore necessary have been eliminated and thereby the construction of the switch formed to serve as bearings for the movable parts, and utilizing the actuating spring and a face-plate for holding the switch parts in operable position within the receptacle.

To accomplish is under compression and the face-plate is Another object of the invention is the prohas been much simplified. This direct con-' this end the actuating spring fastened to the face of the receptacle. This V plate; Fig. 2 is a similar view of the same with the face plate removed; Fig. 3 is a top plan view of a double pole switch covered by a wall plate, the switch being sho in broken lines; Fig-4 is a longitudlnal ce ral sectional view on an enlarged scale on line 44. in Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view on line 55 in Fig. 1 with a wall plate added; Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view on line 66 in Fig. 2; and Fig. 7 is a persptlactive viewof a reversible contact termina I In the drawings, the switch mechanism is shown as comprising three main parts a rocker member 10, a spring 12 for actuating the rocker member and a snap leve -14 for moving the spring to actuate the rocker member. The rocker member carries one or more contacts for making or breaking one or more circuits. In the single pole switch, it carries one contact blade 16 which in one position bridges two fixed contact terminals to close the circuit and in another position is disengaged from said terminals to open the circuit. In the double pole form, the

rocker member carries two contact blades 16 and 18- which make and in the same manner.

Referring to the single pole switch illustrated in igures -1, 2, 5 and 6 the rocker member 10 is stamped from sheet material and is preferably U-shaped having its two ends turned outwardly to form journal ortions 20 (Fig. 5) whereby it is moun in suitable bearings for pivotal rocking movement and having one of said ends extended to form a shoulder 22 and a flat arm 24 upon break two circuits ,which'iis fixed the contact blade 16. The.

latter is made of two elongated members se- 1 cured to the arm between two metal washers 26 from which they are insulated by washers 28 of insulating material. The two arms of the blade are provided with openings in their centers sufiiciently large to prevent contact between them and the arm 24 and the end of the arm is riveted over the outer metal washer 26 in order to hold the contact blade members locked thereon. The ends of the two blade members are expanded with laterally flared edges for engaging and making a good contact with fixed contact terminals.

The snap lever 14 is of any suitable form having a finger portion and an expanded bottom portion to form shoulders 82 (Fig. 4) and inset and fastened by a pin 83 in said bottom portion is a plate 34 bored at 36 to receive one end of the helical spring 12, the other end of which is mounted loosely upon an upwardly projecting lug 38 formed on the bottom portion of the rocker member. The spring is under compression at all times which causes its upper end to be thrown to one side thereby holding the snap lever in an ofiset position. When the snap lever is thrown in an opposite direction it carries the upper end of the spring across the plane of the rocker member thereby throwing the rocker member in a direction opposite to the movement of the spring. 1

For housing the switch parts, a receptacle of any suitable form molded from porcelain or other insulating material may be utilized and one form of receptacle is shown comprising a body portion 40 recessed in its upper face. As shown, the receptacle is provided with a centrally located main recess 42 within which is a sub-recess 43 for receiving the rocker member and actuating spring. The sub-recess is open at the top but is separated from the main recess by end walls 44 and side walls 45. In the single pole switch, the receptacle is provided with an elongated side recess 46 within which is housed and operates the contact blade 16 and in the double pole switch, the receptacle has an additional recess 48 on the other side of the main recess for housing the second contact blade.

In mounting the switch parts within the receptacle, the rocker member is loosely mounted in the sub-recess 43 with its journals located in grooves 50 formed in the side walls or partitions 45 of said recess so that the rocker member may be rocked pivotally using said grooves as bearing surfaces. The sub-recess is of a dimension longitudinally suflicient to permit the rocker member to swing through an arc of sufficient length to accomplish its function and the end walls 44 of said recess serve as stops to limit. the

' movement of the rocker member in both directions. The snap lever is mounted upon a spindle 52 which rotates in grooves 54 formed in the tops of the side walls 56 of the receptacle. Since the spring 12 is under compression at all times, the parts of the switch when placed loosely in position in the receptacle must be held therein and for that purpose, a skeleton face plate 58 having a rectangular central opening 60 for the snap lever may be fastened to the top face of the receptacle by two screws 62 inserted in recesses 64 in the back face of the receptacle and extending through bores 66 in the body portion of the receptacle.

The face plate by engagement with the spindle 52 holds it in its bearings and the snap lever in operative position and through the pressure exerted by the spring 12 upon the rocker member maintains the rocker member in its hearings (Fig. 4). The lower edges 67 adjacent the sides of the plate 34 carried by the snap lever are formed to act as stops by engaging the tops of the end walls 44 to limit the throw of the snap lever (Fig. 4) in order that the spring 12 may be held under compression at all times. Furthermore, the spring will last longer if the arc of movement of the snap lever is not of undue length.

In a position to be bridged bv the contact blade 16. two contact terminals 68 are fixed on outer shelf portions 70, one at each end of the receptacle. Each terminal 68 comprises a plate portion, an arm perpendicular thereto carrying a contact blade 7 2 at right angles to said arm portion and turned to lie in a plane perpendicular to the plate portion. The plate portion of each terminal is provided with two holes 7 3 and 74, one for receiving the end of an attaching screw 7 5 inserted in a recess 7 6 in the back face of the receptacle and projecting through a bore therein and the other for a binding screw 78, the receptacle being provided with a recess underneath the terminal for receiving the end of the binding screw. The terminals are reversible so that the terminal may be used at either end of the receptacle as shown in Fig. 6 either by turning the contact portion upwardly when used at the left end of the receptacle or reversing it and turning it downwardly if used on the right hand of the receptacle. This simplifies the construction and reduces the cost of making dies since only one die is required for both terminals. is shown in full lines in a position of bridge ing the. two conzact members to close the circuit and in dotted lines in a position of disengagement from the two terminals thereby opening the circuit.

In applying my invention to double pole switches, the rocker member carries two contact blades 16 and 18 as shown in broken lines in Fig. 3 which necessitates the provision of two additional contact terminals 68 for the A second contact blade. This addition requires a change in the form of the receptacle to accommodate the additional parts and it thereby becomes symmetrical. In short, the d011- In Fig. 6 the contact blade ble pole switch requires a different receptacle and a somewhat longer snap lever spindle 52 than does the single pole switch but the other parts are merely duplicates of those used in the latter switch.

The face plate 58 is provided with holes 82 for receiving screws 84 for attaching thereto a wall plate 86 which may be of any suitable and well known form and the ends of the face plate may be slightly elevated in order to constitute supporting means for the wall plate.

It will be observed that my switch comprises a very few parts and that these parts do not require to be fastened in place in the receptacle but are loosely mounted therein and held in operative position by the face plate. This construction eliminates a number of parts which have heretofore been considered necessary for holding the switch parts in operative position and greatly simplifies and facilitates the manufacturing and assembling operations, thereby effecting a very large saving in the cost of manufacture of the switch.

The utilization of the insulating body for bearings for the journals of the rocker member and for the spindle upon which the snap lever is mounted further eliminates the provision of metal bearings and further simplifies the construction and reduces the labor and materials necessary in the manufacturing and assembling. All of the parts of the switch are of extreme simplicity and are what is known as one-operation parts either made from ribbon or sheet material. A switch made in accordance with by invention is, because of its extreme simplicity and few parts, of great durability and not liable to breakage or wear.

It is to be understood that my invention is not to be limited to the particular form of switch herein shown and described since it may be embodied in various other forms all within the purview of the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. A snap switch having, in combination, a base of insulating material provided with to actuate the spring, said lever having journal portions removably engaging the bearings in the side walls of the main recess, and a face plate secured to said base and retaining the rocker member, lever and spring in operative position therein.

2. A snap switch having, in combination, a base of insulating material provided with a main recess and an inner sub-recess separated by walls from the main recess, said main recess having in opposite side walls thereof upwardly opening grooves forming bearings, a substantially til-shaped rocker member pivotally supported in the sub-recess and carrying a contact blade located at one side thereof in the main recess, said rocker member having lateral end bearing extensions, each side wall of the sub-recess being continuous from end to end thereof and said side walls being provided with upwardly opening grooves forming hearings in Which the end bearing extensions of the roclrer member are removably mounted, the side walls of the sub-recess directly supporting and corn stituting means for confining the rocker member against lateral displacement, inwardly extending shoulders on the lower portion of the end walls of the sub-recess to be engaged by the lower end of the rocker member to limit the movement thereof, an actuating spring for the rocker member, a snap lever to actuate the spring, said lever having journal portions removably engaging the bearings in the side walls of the main recess, and a face plate secured to said base and retaining the rocker member, lever and spring in operative position therein.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this eleventh day of February, 1929.

FRANK E. JOHNSON.

a main recess and an inner sub-recess separated by walls from the main recess, said main recess having in opposite side walls thereof upwardly opening grooves forming bearings, a substantially U-shaped rocker member pivotally supported in the sub-recess and carrying a contact blade located at one side thereof in the main recess, said rocker member having lateral end bearing extensions, each side wall of the sub-recess being continuous from end to end thereof and said side walls being provided with upwardly opening grooves forming hearings in which the end bearing extensions of the rocker member are removably mounted, the side walls of the sub-recess directly supporting and constituting means for confininthe rocker member against lateral displacement, an actuating spring for the rocker member, a snap lever 

